MOTHERHOOD
The journey into motherhood is an experience filled with many emotions-the good, the bad, and everything in-between. Mothers have a special place in my heart, especially because I am a mother myself of two wonderful boys. When I reached out to Karla, she was ecstatic and so thankful to receive maternity photos. Karla shared with me she was diagnosed with PCOS and was told early on that she wouldn't be able to conceive. Her and her fiancé, Danny, had been trying for their little miracle even after this tough diagnosis. Karla and Danny moved back to Florida from Colorado and soon after found out they were pregnant with their baby. Danny has always wanted a girl while Karla had wanted a boy but soon after they found out that the baby was a girl, she fell in love. When I asked Karla to describe to me how she felt finding out she was pregnant she told me she felt like her heart was filled. I knew exactly what she meant because knowing life is growing inside of you is something so magical-a whole new level of love is unlocked.
During Karla and Danny's maternity session, I could feel the love between them and their baby girl, Luna. Karla and Danny got engaged last December after being together for over 7 years. The way Danny looked at Karla throughout the entire session brought warmth to my heart. Her glowing skin was radiating across the whole beach and he only had eyes on her and of course baby girl, Luna. Speaking of Danny, he came to the session under the assumption he wasn't good at posing or being in front of the camera. As you can see in the photos, that was NOT true at all. Danny's goofy and loving side shown through in every movement and pose. You could see the love he had for her in his eyes. I also think he had a little bit of fun, too...(am I right?) The two of them together were in sync with one another the entire time.
I was extremely excited for this session because I absolutely loved my pregnancy journey with my boys, and wanted to share another mother's story. The location of this maternity shoot brought us beautiful sunsets and crashing (and a little chilly) ocean waves. During booking, I asked Karla if she would be willing to get in the ocean for me. Honestly, I wasn't too sure how she would react because one, it's the middle of Florida's "winter" and two, maybe she wouldn't want to have photos of her in the water. To my surprise Karla actually said to me, "I'll be your rose from the Titanic! Anything you wan't I'm down!" and I knew then and there that these photos would turn out absolutely gorgeous!!!! I'm getting a little ahead of myself though-mostly because the ocean shots turned out to be my favorite. Karla and Danny came dressed to impress with their matching outfits. For our first location at the shoot, they chose matching black outfits that were a total POWER couple statement. It was bold + beautiful and went beautifully with Florida's natural foliage in the background. And to totally top it off, she brought a crown to add a little bit of queen energy to the photoshoot. After we finished our photos with our first outfit, Karla and Danny ran back to their car to change into the second outfit. They went with classic white, which brings a sense of "freshness" and "new" to their album. A new addition to their life- Luna. We laid out a blanket with some flowers for a cozy + warm scene to capture some close snuggly photos of the couple before we moved onto my favorite part of the session.....the ocean + the pink dress.
The sun began to set as we moved over to the shoreline where Karla and Danny dressed to represent their little moon and star, Luna Estrella, in pink. The dress was a beautiful shade of pink and allowed for us to view the growing baby bump. I also love the addition of our un- paid actor (the wind- hahaha), flying the dress in such an elegant way on its own. As I posed Karla on the shoreline, Danny continuously complimented how beautiful she looked...and she really did! The sun, wind, and her glow proudly showed off Karla's journey into motherhood...and Danny stood by observing how lucky he was on his own journey-fatherhood. Together they will make wonderful parents and I am so lucky + honored to of captured this special time in their lives.
To Luna Estrella Alvarez, who answered all their wishes and made them feel over the moon.
